The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1887-02-10
FACTORY GIRLS.
new Their Health aud 8eauty Are Ruined
by Lives Of Ton.


by Lives Of Ton.
lChacago Inter Oeean.l
Several newsr apers Of New England
have been giving some space Of late to dis
cussion Of the appearance aud character
tstics Of tho factory girls who constitute
such large element Of the population Of
that part OF the country. In the New En-
gland States nearly sixteen thousand
young girls between the ages Of ten and
fifteen, are employed In the various manu-
featuring Industries and nearly two hum
drsd thousand under twenty are thus en-
ployed. The effect OF taking such large
number Of girls away from home Me and
lts softeuing Influences can not but b felt
In the commuuity. These girls work from
seven O'Clock in the morning TIL six o'clock
In the evening. Their work b not heavy,
but 1t 10 monotonons aud wearying. Their
wages range from forty cents . day up.
ward, . woman's average wages IN the
factory being aboat CLIO per day. Az
rule these girls prefer to work In 10 fac.
tories rather than 10 attend school.
IL given an opportunity to receive
an education they do not wish 10
take it Partly because their parents arc
generally anxious to secure the help OF
their wages, and partly from the influence
Of older girls, they Are eager TO Join the
ranks Of the money -gstte5s and Will sacrt.
doe sduca ton, comfort and health to this
end. Their moral condition may not be
all that should be desired, but It Is better
than might b expected considering the
lax influences that surround them. Gem
orally, their behavior In the factories u
proprie,y itself, but in the evening. when
they are set free from the thraldom Of
labor, they are apt to indulge in'romping
demonstrations and noisy talk and laugh
ter.
The picture Of childhood reprsased By
this life of toll - very ead. Ono observer
Gays: "You look In vain tor the pesch-
like cheek, the pretty smile, the proud
step; you find instead . yellow-whits face,
thin and expressionlssA unless the well-
knit eyebrows signify that they regret tho
circumstances which compel them to throw
away the best OF their lives behind the
stone walls Of the mill It. perchance,
some little miss Of twelve, whose acquains-
ence with factory life II short, bubbles
forth with laughter, her childish msrrt
msut only makes the soberness Of her
elders more grim and pitiful. It Il not IN
common to see the girl who entered the
factory the year before with . straight,
pretty form. join tho procession Of round
shouldered lasses after . twelve month";
hard work in the factory"
Concerning the effect Of factory life up
on the health Of those who engage in it In
their early youth, the Boston Herald says:
The appalling fact connected with this kind
of existence is found in the vital statistics
attending it The average life Of the factory
girls is but thirty years. Some Of those
who marry live to be forty or forty-five
years old-seldom more than that. The
physical condition that the mill has pro-
duoed In them units them for matrimony.
It 10 only question Of how much It has
impaired their health in deciding whether
they are to hive up 10 the critical age Of
woman or to fall by the way. The vast ma
iority Of them come far short ofit-none 60
beyond. There is thus brought home to "a .
realization Of tho Moloch that our factory
system is in its effects upon women en-
gagged in it We realize material wealth
by it, AMI at fearful cost Civilization I'd
vances over the corpses Of tn ose who con-
tribute to its progress; but as they drop
out in the procession, scores Of others step
in to fill their places With all tho deadly
deterioration of physical vigor that the
factory produces, it is favored among the
more intelligent women over healthy
household service, and this not by those Of
American birth alone. The majority OF
the min-girls are French or Of French e.
traction, while the Irish are largely rep.
resented in their ranks.